Eagles have to focus on Graham, Saints' passing attack (copy)

Tuesday

PHILADELPHIA — For five minutes, Mychal Kendricks stood at his locker inside the NovaCare Complex and answered a ton of questions about what the secret is to stopping the NFL’s best tight end.

And at one point, the Eagles’ second-year linebacker said the best way to stop Jimmy Graham is just to go out and play the game.

“It’s football,” Kendricks said. “People win at times on him and people lost at times (against) him.”

And it is clear that the biggest threat to the Eagles’ chance of winning in Saturday night’s NFC Wild Card game against the New Orleans Saints at Lincoln Financial Field is Graham running down the seams and connecting with All-Pro and Super Bowl-winning quarterback Drew Brees.

“He’s the No. 1 target they have and he’s been their most consistent target,” Eagles defensive coordinator Billy Davis said before Tuesday’s practice. “He’s a big, athletic tight end, catches everything thrown near him. They move him all over the place so it’s tough to practice and get a beat on how to help guys on him.”

Those fears are elevated slightly after what the Eagles were unable to do to stop Cowboys tight end Jason Witten on Sunday night. Witten, held to four catches and 48 yards in the first meeting between the two teams in October, had 12 catches for 135 yards to keep Dallas in the game late despite missing quarterback Tony Romo.

The comparisons between Graham and Witten are not exact, but Davis admitted there are some.

“It’s very similar,” Davis said. “They probably move Graham around more than they do Witten but it’s very similar. Both are key components of the offense.”

Kendricks saw the same thing.

“(Graham) is a faster kind of guy,” Kendricks said. “Witten uses his body really well. So does Graham. But Graham can separate a little better.”

For most of the season, the Eagles have done a good job playing against the opposing tight end. The Chargers’ Antonio Gates slashed them in the second week for eight catches and 124 yards. Witten did damage last week. That matchup had been a problem over the past few years.

“I think we have been good at times and struggled at times,” Davis said. “Like anything, the talent level of the tight end that’s coming at you, how much I help on the tight end with a call or I don’t, depending how many weapons they have or the situation, sometimes I give a lot of help, sometimes I don’t and I think it just moves, it’s a moving target.”

Graham isn’t the only worry offensively for the Eagles in the passing game. Pierre Thomas has 77 catches out of the backfield and Marques Colston leads the Saints’ wide receivers with 75.

Ultimately, the key to disrupting the Saints’ passing attack is to get pressure on Brees, who possesses one of the quickest releases in the sport. He has been sacked 39 times this year.

“He really makes you defend the field both horizontally and vertically because all five of his eligible receivers are up and active,” Davis said. “A lot of the younger quarterbacks cannot pull that off and a lot of the older quarterbacks can’t. But he’s been in the system and been with Sean (Payton) for a while and they just really stretch you, again, both vertically and horizontally.”